The Ministry of Health is working on upgrading complex diagnostic equipment and improving the accessibility of specialized care in the regions. This was stated by the Minister of Health, Vladimir Karanik, in an interview with the programme "Conversation with the President" on the Belarus 1 TV channel, as reported by BELTA.
According to Vladimir Karanik, the ministry is monitoring the situation where expensive equipment is out of order due to technical reasons. Marketing research has been conducted, and prices for spare parts in neighbouring countries have been analysed. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has actively joined the effort. Many suppliers have provided cost justifications, and prices for some items have decreased by more than half. "If in May there were 37 units of complex diagnostic equipment out of order, then as of today, 21 remain," the minister said.
This situation has led to an increased workload on the functioning equipment, causing them to fail. "This is the third week that we have stabilised the situation and are restoring equipment faster than it breaks down," the minister informed. "We have quite ambitious plans to the effect that by September, there will be virtually isolated cases of equipment being out of order due to technical reasons. It should all be restored and brought back into working condition," he emphasised.
Equipment that has reached the end of its service life will be replaced. The delivery of five computerised tomography scanners is already underway. "Once this fleet is restored, we will have a clearer understanding of how to organise patient logistics and what we truly lack," noted Vladimir Karanik.
The minister said that the country plans to actively develop inter-district and inter-regional centres. This includes the modernisation and re-equipment of hospitals in 11 major cities, following the example of Orsha. This will help reduce the burden on republican and regional centres, where the majority of high-tech examinations are performed. A working group has been established jointly with the Ministry of Finance to determine the mechanism for financing these costs. This means that the assistance provided at the level of Republican Scientific and Practical Centres will become more accessible to the population, explained Vladimir Karanik. The standards for providing ambulance services in the regions have already been increased, and the vehicle fleet is being re-equipped.